Electric Feel
by GayerThanATreeFullOfMonkeys
Summary: "Fury would kill you for a lot of the things that you've done with me Clint." Clint can't seem to get Loki out of his head, not that he's really trying. Established Frosthawk, takes place after the movie.
1. Talking to yourself

This is just a little i'm sorry gift to all my readers who probably hate me for taking so long to update the rest of my stories. I swear that they will ALL be updated by tomorrow evening.

Enjoy!

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Clint glared at the bar full of people, hating everyone, hating everything except for the glass of whiskey in his hand. '_What lowly humans, you are surrounded by sheep you know'_ Loki's voice whispered in his mind, Clint shook his head, wondering, not for the first time, if maybe he should tell someone about this. Maybe he should tell Nat that he still heard Loki in his head. Maybe he should tell her that in the mirror sometimes he imagined that his eyes were a bright, unnatural blue. But then, if he was going to tell her that, then he would have to tell her everything else. He would have to tell her about what had _really_ happened when he was under Loki's influence.

'_When you were my pet you mean darling?'_ Loki's voice whispered, smile evident in his tone.

"Shut up" Clint muttered, taking another swig of his drink.

'_Oh but this is too much fun. I get so bored in here Clint' _The trickster god drew his name out much longer than Clint would have thought possible, savoring every letter._ ' Asgard seems to think that throwing me in a cell will stop my mischief.'_

"Not very smart of them." Another whisper, this time hidden by his hand, and he already was getting odd looks from the bartender. Time to leave than, once Loki has started talking to him he normally doesn't stop until he's driven Clint insane.

'_Oh I would agree pet, but than you were always so much more intelligent than everyone else.'_

"Flattery won't get you anything Loki. And I'm not your pet." He whispered as he left the bar and walked down the road, headed for the nearest hotel, he didn't want to be around the rest of the avengers tonight. They already treated him weirdly enough; it was as if they didn't trust him anymore. Not that he blamed them for that.

'_Oh Clint darling, my little bird, I'm not trying to get anything. Aren't I allowed to fawn over you? Isn't that the point of a pet?"_

"This pet thing is a really disturbing kink of yours Loki." Then he sighed and shook his head "Why am I even talking back to you? Fury would kill me for this."

A slow, seductive laugh _'Fury would kill you for a lot of the things that you've done with me Clint.'_

The archer didn't even bother responding to that, he walked into the hotel and paid for a room, flipping open his phone to text Nat to tell her that he wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning as he walked down the hotel hallway.

'_No wait, let me rephrase that, Fury would kill you for a lot of the things that you're doing with me Clint.' _As Clint locked the door of his hotel room behind him he felt all of the heat leave the room as Loki projected himself into the room.

Clint never asked how Loki could possibly do this, they both knew that he had practically unlimited resources of magic at his fingertips and most of the time Clint didn't care how he was doing it. Loki wasn't taking over the world so it wasn't a problem that the avengers needed to be made aware of. 'At least he's not making me choose between him and them again.' Clint thought to himself.

There was a hand on his shoulder and Loki spun him around, slamming him into the door, smirk practically eating his face. "_Do_ stop thinking so much pet. I don't like it when you think. It creases that pretty face of yours."

"Then stop being so complex" Clint smiled, feeling himself go boneless in Loki's grasp, he stared up at him, eyes imploring him to stop all of this pain and confusion. Because with Loki things had been easy, Clint hadn't even thought twice about his decisions, he just did whatever his god wished of him, and there had been such freedom in that. Loki sighed as if in exasperation and leaned down to kiss him, releasing him from all ideas of right and wrong. "'Please" Clint whispered desperately.

"What's the magic word?" Loki laughed mockingly at the pleading in Clint's expression.

"God, please my _god_."

"Please what?" The trickster god ran his slim fingers over Clint's shoulder and down his chest, pushing the thin fabric of his tee shirt out of the way, ice cold skin ghosting across Clint's fevered flesh. "Please what my bird? Please make you forget about being _good_? Please dominate you and make you belong to me again? Is that it? Is that why you never seem to stop thinking about me? Would you like me to control you again?"

Clint shuddered at the all too familiar feeling of power sparking just underneath Loki's skin. He could feel it traveling inside of the god, like he was an electrical wire. When Clint was little he had once seen a fallen electric wire, he had stood there, about 15 feet away, and stared as the wire danced across the road, spraying sparks of energy as it moved. That wire reminded him of Loki, all chaos and erratic emotions, there was nothing reasonable about Loki, he was not the type of person that one could predict. Clint had stepped closer and closer to that wire when he was little; close enough that with one more step he would die. But then his father saw him and yelled at him to get away. But even as normal society was screaming at him to run Clint never had been able to resist that type of insane power. Even when he walked away from that fallen wire he still was compelled to glance back.

"Please my god, I want to feel what I used to, when I belonged to you and only you." He said quietly, arching into Loki's hand and the power that raced through his veins. "And I know that you want to feel it to. So go ahead."

"Very good my pet."

Clint trailed a weary hand across Loki's chest as they lay twined together in the uncomfortable hotel bed, sweat drying on their bodies. "How do you do this?" He asked, reveling in the feel of Loki's skin, always so much softer than he was expected, and cold to every touch except for Clint's, only he could feel the hot electricity coursing beneath the god's frozen skin.

"Don't be stupid darling" Loki said quietly, threading long fingers through Clint's hair, stroking him like he really was a pet. "You know how I do it."

"I realize that you project yourself here yeah but how can I feel you? How can _this_ be happening if you're just a projection?" The avenger pulled himself up into a sitting position beside Loki and stares down at the trickster god, daring him to call him stupid again.

A quiet, pleased laugh comes out of Loki, surprising Clint with how genuine it sounds, but then, this is a god of lies that he is dealing with here. Really he shouldn't be believing anything that Loki says or does but Clint has never been very good at doing what he should. "Mmm, I do like it when I am questioned without being challenged."

"What?" Clint asked, feeling dumb, but then when does he ever feel anything else around Loki?

"Nothing pet, now in response to that lovely question of yours….this is in your head of course. I am projecting my image, my scent, my _taste_ into your mind." As he spoke in that smooth, cultured voice of his, Loki pulled Clint back down onto the bed, and rolled him onto his back, he rose above him, trapped him on each side with slender but strong arms, no chance for escape. Not that Clint would ever consider attempting escape from his god. The archer's eyes widened at the sinful note to Loki's voice and the smirk that was filling up his vision."All of this….." He licked a bead of sweat off of Clint's temple and started kissing and biting his way down his torso. "Everything that you see and feel and understand to be reality" Loki stopped just at his waist and glanced back up at Clint's strained expression, the sweat rolling down his forehead and the god's emerald eyes narrowed in amusement. "It is all happening inside your head. According to the human definition of reality, you are alone in a hotel room, no one is with you, none of this has happened."

"I think…" Clint gasped and had to bite down hard on his lip to stop the moan that had been building in his throat when Loki started kissing even lower. "Ah, _Fuck Loki_."

"It was the other way around actually." Loki laughed quietly, almost to himself. He looked up at Clint again and his smile widened on one side. "Continue what you were saying pet."

"I think that…_holy shit_" He muttered as Loki's tongue did things that he hadn't even known were possible "maybe, the human definition of reality…." Clint wound his hands in Loki's long, sleek black hair, trying to steady himself, no way was this all in his head "isn't a very good definition at all."

The trickster didn't say anything in reply, he just continued to drive Clint insane with that mouth of his until the avenger's vision turned black and green and every color in the universe and he cried out his god's name. Clint was floating in between asleep and awake when he heard Loki's voice again and felt him stroking his short hair. _'You're smarter than you know my little bird. And when this world is mine…..you will be as well, and then it won't just be in your head. Goodnight.'_

When Clint woke the next morning he was covered in bruises and bite marks that hurt when he pressed down on them, but even as he gazed at his reflection in the mirror they slowly faded and disappeared, hiding all evidence of his liaison from his teammates. He sighed, not sure if he was happy or depressed about his unmarked skin. The archer turned on his phone and saw a few texts from Nat asking if he was alright, one that was just random letters from Thor (he hadn't quite learned how to use a cell phone), and one from a number that he didn't know.

_Sent at 1:32 AM yesterday: Here is a better way to talk my bird, seeing as how when I speak to you in your head you insist on responding out loud like an idiot. And that just won't do, I can't have people doubting the mental stability of my pet can I? There, see how human you're making me act?_

Clint smiled fondly and keyed in Natasha's number, raising the phone to his ear, head full of Loki, Loki, Loki, his god.

"Hey, Nat, no….I'm fine, better than fine actually. Yeah I'll be there soon." As he left he glanced in the mirror hanging on the wall and grinned at his reflection, his eyes were their normal shade of grayish green, not a hint of unnatural blue.

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Review and let me know what you all think! This is the first time I've written this pairing so I hope it turned out well!


	2. Addicted

I wasn't going to actually start another story but what the hell, it's summer. Why not. And Frosthawk is just…..unf so many feels. Thank you everyone who reviewed the 1st chapter, you guys are what inspired me to write this!

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"Clint?" The archer didn't even look up when he heard the soft, familiar voice. He had been expecting that Natasha would come seek him out from the moment that he had gotten home (wow, he was thinking of the Avenger's mansion as his home automatically now, how odd. Clint hadn't considered anything home in a long time).

"Yes Tasha?" Clint remained engrossed in his phone, re-reading the message that Loki had sent him that morning.

"Damn it Clint will you pay attention to me when I'm talking to you?" Natasha had climbed up the rope ladder to where his hammock (cough nest cough) hung and gracefully clambered into it.

He quickly turned his phone off and stuck it in his pocket, terrified that Nat would try to read the message over his shoulder. "Ok I'm paying attention now." He turns a lopsided smile towards her, hoping that she won't see through him and yet knowing that she will.

"We need to talk." Her voice is straight forward and her expression is stony, something like dread unfurls in Clint's stomach.

"About what?" Clint turns to face his fellow avenger, running a hand through his short hair.

Natasha bits at her upper lip, obviously conflicted about something. Then she sighs and pulls out a file from the messenger bag slung around her shoulder, a file with his name on it. "Look….I know that you want this to be in the past and all but…..I was worried. So I snooped around headquarters and found this."

He takes the file from her, feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket and ignoring it. Oh this is not good; he's never read his file before but is almost certain that he does not want to know its contents.

"Just skip to the medical report" The red head says shortly.

So he does, and feels the blood drain from his face. Oh this. That day after Loki and Thor had left for Asgard, that day when Fury had questioned him, and that day that he had been knocked out and then woken up the following morning alone in his bedroom. Oh of course SHIELD would do something like this. Knock him out so that they could take a full medical examination of the influence Loki had had on his body.

_Signs of numerous sexual acts (forced?) on Agent Barton, signs include alien substances on Agent's person and clothing, bruises and bite marks. Bruises concentrated around hips, neck, thighs and groin area, bite marks concentrated around neck area and appear repeatedly on torso._

The report went into much greater detail but Clint had had enough, he thrust the papers away from him, refusing to look Natasha in the eyes. "Clint please look at me."

_Loki had smiled then, he smiled in anticipation of the plans that the two of them had been discussing, their plans for taking over the world. The two of them were in a high rise, in one of the offices that Loki seemed to find so kinky. "You are mine pet" He whispered as his fingers tightened on Clint's hips "tomorrow I want you to wake up and see these bruises and bites and know that you have been marked as my property. I want these marks to last for weeks. So that you will know that you belong to me and only me alright?"_

_Clint blinked slowly at him through unnaturally blue eyes and smiled, knowing that that was what his god wanted. "Yes sir. I only belong to you."_

"Clint!" He finally focused his gaze back at Natasha, ignoring the incessant buzzing of his cell phone.

"What do you want me to say Tasha? I wish that you didn't know any of this ok? I wanted to protect you."

"Please just talk to me!" She must be really upset; Clint could count on one hand how many times Natasha had ever said please to him and two of those times had been in the last minute. "Why didn't you tell me about any of this?"

The archer sighed "I already told you, I wanted to protect you. And how would you feel Nat? Would you have told anyone the details if it had been you that Loki had taken?"

She takes his hand and leans towards him eyes huge and fixed on him "I….I need you to trust me Clint. You are the only person in the world that I fully trust and I need to know that you feel the same about me." Natasha shifts in the hammock so she is sitting closer to Clint "Did Loki…..I mean…was it forced like the medical report said?"

"_Come here" Loki purred from where he was sitting, gazing across the room at his underling. He had called Clint up to his room and the archer had come immediately, because that was what his god ordered. He would always do what his god ordered, and he would do it happily. _

_Clint stepped towards him, stepping forward until he had reached the large, throne like chair that Loki was so fond of. "Yes sir?"_

_Loki smiled up at him, a slim hand reaching out to touch the rough material of Clint's vest. "Kneel"_

_He dropped to his knees, enchanted eyes gazing respectfully and impassively at Loki, just waiting for the next order. Loki leaned forward and unzipped his vest slowly, pushing it off his archer's shoulders, fingers lingering on the exposed, battle-worn skin. "What would you do for me my bird?"_

"_Anything sir." And then because Loki seemed to be waiting for him to say something more Clint tried again. "What do you wish for me to do?"_

_A self-satisfied smirk flashed across Loki's face "How about you tell me Clint. Tell me exactly what you want to do for me."_

_Clint struggled with those words that Loki had uttered so easily, he could feel that odd, caged part of his brain struggling, trying to say something but he quickly crushed that struggle inside himself. "I want to do anything that you want me to do, no matter what the consequences."_

"_And why is that?" That had seemed to be the right answer because Loki was touching him again, running ice-cold fingers over his shoulders and down his chest._

"_Because you are my god" Clint responded simply, because well….it was simple…it was obvious._

"_Mm, good pet" Loki laughed, blinking once, his eyes flashing an even more intense shade of green as their clothing disappeared "And never forget that."_

"No…no it wasn't forced" He glances up at Natasha's shocked, worried expression before rolling his eyes and tugging his hand out of hers "Come on Nat, when I was under his control…..it was like….anything that he wanted was also what I wanted. I can't explain it."

"I wish that you had been truthful with me" She said softly "You told me that you couldn't remember most of it."

"Well I wish that I didn't ok!" He shouted, hating that he was losing his temper with his best friend but hating even more all the guilt that was rushing at him. Guilt for lying to Nat, guilt for lying about how he really felt about Loki, guilt for betraying either the avengers or his god with everything he did.

Natasha sighed and squeezed his hand once more before climbing out of the hammock. "I'll leave you alone now. Whenever you want to talk I'm here Clint."

"Please don't tell anyone" He called softly down to her once she was halfway down the ladder, he leaned over the hammock to watch her. She sighed once then glanced back up at him and nodded.

When he heard the door close behind her Clint took out his phone and flipped it open, wondering who had been trying to get his attention like that. There was nothing there. No texts, no calls, nothing. "No fucking way I was imagining that." He muttered to himself.

"I liked it better when you were my innocent little bird" Comes a soft voice behind him, Clint can feel arms wrapping possessively around his chest, squeezing all rebellion out of him "Only cursing when I ordered it."

"Hello" Clint whispers "You know that there are cameras everywhere in the avenger's mansion."

Loki laughs and bites down hard on the tip of his ear "Once I leave here all footage of any conversations with me and our dear Natasha will be erased and replaced with something incredibly boring."

"Thank you" The archer says "Why were you making my phone vibrate?"

A pale hand reaches up and takes his chin, tilting it back so he is staring up at the ceiling. Loki kisses the exposed neck, sucking not so gently on his skin. "I was reminding you that I was watching. It is crucial to me that you keep our secret." He murmurs, breath raising goose bumps on Clint's skin. "I cannot have the avengers aware of my growing power."

"So you _are_ going to try to take over again" Clint says, shivering as Loki's hand moves down to his waist and the god tugs the archer flush against him.

Loki's hands tighten on his hip bones, creating more bruises and making the avenger flinch. "Remember your place my pet."

Clint is silent as Loki runs his hands over him, moaning and whispering his name whenever he knows it is expected of him. Though he loves and relishes in every second that his god is touching him he feels an odd coldness that has nothing to do with the chill of Loki's body. It is a coldness from deep inside him, the type of coldness that could fester and take him over if he wasn't careful. For once he wasn't overcome with the electric feel of Loki and that terrified him.

When Loki is finished and they are intertwined in the hammock the god glances over at him smirking and reaches out to touch his shoulder, magic sparking on his fingertips. Clint is shocked into awareness and he stares in shock at the trickster. "What did you do that for?" He asks, feeling that manic, wonderful electricity rushing through his veins, swirling inside his mind, making him bigger, brighter, _better_.

"Don't act so innocent. I know that is what you crave when you are with me. I wanted to see its effect on you." He sits up and tilts his head to the side. "You have the mind of an addict my little bird. Be careful that it does not consume you."

"You didn't seem to mind when it was you that I was addicted to." He doesn't know what is compelling him to speak like this to his god but he can't seem to stop.

Loki laughs and his hands once again dart out to touch Clint, thrumming with energy. The archer has to bite down on his tongue to stop his gasp of pleasure as the magic combined with Loki's skilled fingers touches him "You will always be addicted to me and that is one addiction that I will approve of. Just stay sharp understand? I am allowing you your free will, do not misuse it" then he was gone and Clint was alone, again feeling only coldness surrounding him. A pit of coldness that seems to become deeper and more consuming every time Loki leaves him alone.

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Review!


	3. Author's note

Dear readers, I'm a terrible person. All of my stories are sitting around my documents halfway done and now I need to go on vacation for 2 weeks…..vacation meaning no computer access of course. I'm so _so _sorry, once I get back I'll pull an all nighter to finish writing, that's how much you guys mean to me. Ok I'm done now; there really was no point to this except I feel guilty about how long it's been.


	4. Crossroads

Sorry about the unexpected delay everyone, after my vacation my parents dragged me off to the beach so I've been super busy.

Hope you enjoy!

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"They are going to make a spectacle of me" Loki snarled, his emerald eyes darting around the small room dangerously, reminding the human of a snake. Clint was watching him from the other side of the room. He had felt a burning, an intense tension crushing in on his temples and had hurried to an unused room in the avenger's mansion. And sure enough the second he had closed and locked the door Loki had appeared, looking more insane than the archer had ever seen.

"What are they going to do?" He asked in a small voice adding "sir?" as an afterthought, worried about how his god would react to Clint talking back to him. He hadn't ever seen Loki show so much raw emotion.

Loki whirled around and in the blink of an eye was across the room, backing Clint into the wall, enraged green eyes the only thing that he could see. "They are going to turn me into a mockery. That is to be my punishment, I will be stripped of my magic, I'll…..I'll be stripped of every lie I have and I be put on display for them to hate and taunt." He was breathing hard, panting as if he had been running for hours; Clint had never seen Loki look so exhausted. How could Loki manage to be so manic while he was _this_ tired?

"What can I do?" He asked helplessly, reaching to hook a hand around the back of Loki's neck, pulling the trickster down to his height. He was just craving contact so badly, no actually when he thought about it he was craving some sort of security but Clint wasn't an idiot, he knew that he wouldn't get any. Security was practically an antonym of Loki.

The god leaned down and kissed him hard, parting the human's lips easily, his hands pushing the smaller man's back against the wall. "You can stay right here, basking in my power and continue worshiping me for as long as you live." He whispered, breath ghosting across the archer's face.

It took all of his willpower but Clint actually pushed Loki away "Don't change the subject like that Loki. What do you _really _want me to do? What is happening?" He knew that he was crossing some invisible line here even if he didn't know exactly what it was.

Loki seemed to sense the invisible line as well; he looked over Clint, eyes narrow and no longer as wild as before. "Do you really want to know? You will be sacrificing your life here if I tell you."

Clint gazed up at him, pupils huge due to the nearness of his god. "What do you mean?" He asked, trying to get back some of his common sense.

"If I tell you my plans you will be more than my pet. People will see you as a partner in crime rather than my poor little manipulated toy. Your friends will feel that you betrayed them. Do you want that?"

The archer was quiet for a few moments, not very sure how to respond to Loki's question. The god gazed at him intently, mouth a thin, tense line. "I do not wish to push you pet but I will need an answer."

Clint gazed right back at him, worrying at his upper lip. What could he possibly say to that? Natasha's face came to his mind unbidden and tears filled his eyes. He wiped impatiently at his eyes and stared up at Loki. "I don't know….I…this is so complicated."

"It doesn't have to be" The trickster said softly, reaching a pale, cold hand up to brush a tear off of his cheek, touch deceptively gentle. "If it's too hard…..I can give you your _freedom_ again."

"Neither of us wants that." Clint replied shortly, pulling away from his god's hands.

"What makes you say that my bird?"

The avenger smiled bitterly up at Loki "Well for one I like being able to think through my decisions instead of just blindly following your orders, and two….you like having someone challenge you, I know you do, you get off on it."

Loki laughed, pleased with him. "Oh I _did_ choose well. You never cease to intrigue me."

Clint laughed shortly with the mischief god, seeing an opportunity to cajole the man into a better mood. "I try" He says, kissing the sharp line of Loki's jaw, wanting to ignore the idea that he may have to choose….and soon.

Loki stopped him, drawing back from the human, high eyebrows climbing even higher on his forehead. "You did not answer my question pet. Do not presume that I will be easy to distract."

"I don't presume anything about you Loki, I know better than that." His stomach was in knots, decisions decision decisions, why were decisions so damn hard? This was a crossroads, Clint knew that it was, he was standing in front of two doors and there was no one to help him choose. It was all up to him, there was no calling a friend, not anymore.

A raised eyebrow from his god and Clint sighed, knowing what Loki was going to say before he said it. "Answer the question. Do you really want to know? Do you wish to choose your side now? Do you want to stay allied with your friends or with me?"

So there it was, 3 fairly simple questions laid out plainly for him, Loki's crisp, smooth voice soothing him. But what to choose? Who to choose? Clint thought of Natasha, and Budapest, that night when she had slipped into his bed and heart. In the cold light of day they decided that they were better off as friends but Clint had treasured that night as one of the best of his life, until his eyes were turned bright blue at least. And everyone else, everyone that he would be betraying, Tony, Steve, Coulson, Fury, Bruce…they had become something like a family during their time together, the only true family he had ever had. And he was willing to give that up for a god of _lies_.

Loki tilted his head at him, eyes bright and shimmering, catching all light in the room. It hurt Clint's heart to look at him. Because he loved him. And the archer had decided a long time ago that he was never going to love, never. And yet one glance, one order, one laugh from Loki and he was gone. Clint couldn't pin point the moment when he realized he loved Loki, it was like a combination of events and words that the god said that slowly over time made the avenger realize that he was in love with his captor, Stockholm syndrome to the extreme.

"I'm with you Loki" He finally said, glancing up at gazing into his god's eyes, hoping that Loki would realize how drastic this was for him. "I'm always with you."

Loki smiled tenderly or was that just a trick Clint's eyes were playing on him? The god touched his cheek briefly with cold fingers. "I was _so _hoping you would say that." He murmured, leaning close, lips brushing against the archer's for a second before he disappeared.

Sleep was finally closing in on Clint when he heard the shrill sound of the alarm, ringing throughout the mansion. A second later his door was being opened and Natasha was in front of him, gorgeous face deadly serious and sad.

"What? What is it?" He asked worried as he got out of bed and started to pull on his gear. When the red head didn't respond Clint glanced over at her confused, midway through grabbing his bow.

Tasha stopped his quick, practiced motions with a steady hand on his shoulder and peered into his face. "Clint."

"What's happening Tasha?" Clint asked, feeling like his stomach was plunging way down, down to the basement, past the basement, to the center of the earth because the stricken look on her face could only mean one thing, there was only one thing….one _person _who could make his best friend look at him like this…

"Loki's back."

Oh snap. I went there. Shits about to go down.

Review please and let me know what you think!


	5. Battle lines

Wow I love you guys for giving this little story so much attention.

Enjoy.

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They found Loki on the roof of the mansion. He was throwing insults and spells at Thor, Tony, Bruce in hulk form and Steve as the four attempted to fend him off and failed.

"How are you here brother?!" Thor shouted, dodging a small knife and throwing Mjolnir at the trickster.

Loki dodged the hammer and the question as he tossed Tony across the roof with a smirk when the man attempted to sneak up on him. "Keep your hands to yourself Stark, I'm taken." And as if he had sensed Clint's presence he turned and smiled briefly at him, dropping a quick wink at the confused archer before turning to punch Steve.

"What are you doing just standing there?" Tasha asked, pulling her gun out and waiting for him to load his bow. They had done this a thousand times before, working together perfectly, taking down an enemy in seconds, the perfect team. Except this time was different, this time was so terribly different.

He had promised, he had _promised_ Loki, he had told his god that he would stick with him no matter what but now that it was actually happening he could feel adrenaline pumping through his veins and all he wanted to do was run away.

"I can't." He whispered, turning to her with huge, round eyes. "I'm sorry Nat but I can't."

And then as if his words had cued it, everything stopped. The fighting stopped, the noise stopped and Clint could feel his heart clench. He glanced back at Loki and say his god standing there grinning widely, long black hair askew, like a dark halo around his pale face. Magic was sparking and crackling around him. He had frozen the four fighting him in place and they were all looking between Loki and Clint shocked. Natasha moved up in front of him, looking scared, trying to peer into his eyes and make sure that they were the right color.

"What are you talking about Clint?"

Loki laughed and twirled a throwing knife between his slim fingers, looking as if he didn't have a care in the world and he hadn't just escaped from a prison on a different world. "I could answer that question if you like Miss Romanoff."

"No! I am through with hearing the sound of your voice!" She shouted over her shoulder at the god who raised an eyebrow and started to hum something under his breath. "Clint...Please...what's going on?" Tasha begs, turning back to him, tears in her eyes, he had never seen her like this. God as if she didn't have enough trust issues, now he was going to betray her just like everyone else in her life had.

"I'm so sorry." He said softly to her, pulling away and walking over to Loki, hating that even now, in the midst of all this sadness, the sight of his god's slight, genuine smile could still make his heart skip a beat.

"Come along now pet." Loki said, reaching out a hand to crush the archer to his chest. There was a sharp crack and the spell on the men broke. Clint squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn't have to see their expression of confusion and anger but he could still hear their shouts, then there was another loud crack and the two were gone off the roof and Loki was letting him slip from his arms onto soft sheets and cool air.

Throughout his many years of killing and violence Clint had only had 2 panic attacks, and now it seemed that he was about to have a third. His throat was closing up and oh god when had breathing become so difficult? He tried to open his eyes but when he did all he saw was Natasha's heartbroken expression and the anger on the faces of the rest of his teammates. All he could think about was what they must be saying about him right now. They were probably wondering why they had ever trusted him. Why they had ever even let him on the team, he was nothing, absolutely nothing. Oh god he couldn't breathe, he had just given up everything he had ever known...for...for what?

Loki's face swam into view, green eyes worried and hair falling all around his pale face. Oh right, for his god. For this man who could weave the most beautiful lies that he had ever heard and make Clint believe them too.

"Shush now pet, I need you to breath darling." Loki murmured, running cold fingers over his heated skin, magic rushing over him, that familiar electric feeling that was the best anchor in the world. "Clint, listen to my voice and calm down, I'm right here. You're fine, I'm right here." And then slowly he did calm down, breathing became easy again and he was able to sit up and try regain a bit of his pride.

"Sorry Loki...I don't know why that happened." He muttered, trying to fight down the blush that was rising to his cheek as he glanced around the room that they were in. It looked like some posh, minimal bedroom that one might see on TV, if Clint watched TV that is.

"Yes you do" The trickster said with an incredulous look on his face "try not to say such idiotic things pet, at least in my presence. You were having a panic attack, and it was most likely because you've just left behind any semblance of a normal life." He paused and sat back on his heels, teeth flashing in the low light of the room as he smirked. "Also you say sorry too much."

"Sorry" the archer said without thinking, running a hand over his face, wondering if he was going to wake up and find that all of this had been a dream, that really he was still just a teenager living with a bunch of circus freaks and dreaming of a bigger life.

"Clint" Loki takes him by the chin and forces him to look into his eyes. "Tell me the truth; are you regretting your decision?"

He doesn't blink, doesn't look away, because the god of lies has more trust issues than both Clint and Natasha combined and he wants Loki to really, truly believe what he is going to say. "I told you that I'm with you Loki. It was the truth, and I won't ever regret it." He says softly, as tenderly as he can without being mocked.

The god smiled and touched Clint's cheek, long fingers splaying out into his short hair, something beyond words in his narrow eyes. Clint was leaning forward to kiss him when Loki suddenly pulled back, his expression turning back into its normal sneer. "Go to sleep my bird. We have a long day of taking over the world ahead of us." Then he shimmered like a mirage and disappeared from the room.

"Fuck I hate it when he does that." Clint muttered, punching his pillow and falling back onto it, determined not to sleep.

Loki waited just out of sight until Clint finally fell asleep. The god sighed and wandered over to the bed where his little archer lay, watching to make sure he wouldn't be plagued with bad dreams. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone, least of all Clint, but he had done this several times before, during those times when he had visited Clint and kissed him until he couldn't talk back. The human had always thought that he had left once he had fallen asleep but sometimes Loki stayed and watched over him, petting his hair and smiling at the way his eyes twitched under his eyelids, always on the lookout for danger, even in his dreams. Forever a soldier. And now his soldier.

At that the faint smile that had graced Loki's lips faded because, this was another thing that he would never admit, but he was guilty, guilty that he had taken his human away from his life. Like the guilt that a new pet owner may feel when their pet cries all through the night over losing its mother. Loki reached down and stroked the side of Clint's cheek briefly, pulling away with a start when he started to stir, in a second the god was gone again, like a ghost forever haunting the steps of the living.

Clint opened his eyes and blinked once, twice, because for a second there he had thought he had seen something, but no, the room was empty. He raised a hand to his cheek wondering why it was tingling like that.

Loki appeared in the bedroom next door to where his human slept, his eyes darting around the large room, searching for something he could break. He settled on a glass figurine and with a muttered word a silencing spell descended on the room. With an animalistic cry he hurtled it at the wall, his lips drawing back from his teeth in a cruel interpretation of a smile as the glass broke into a million pieces and flew everywhere. The mischief god rubbed at his eyes, feeling them prickling and with a wave of his hand the glass had disappeared, all evidence of any emotion gone. He should not be so affected by a human, a pathetic mortal. Why should it matter if the archer had been taken away from his friends? So what? He had chosen to follow Loki; he was the one who had welcomed the god into his mind over and over again.

A smirk tugged at his lips as he thought of something, something that may not necessarily make him feel better but it would make his enemies feel worse and that was kind of like the same thing. He blinked and in a second was in the avenger's mansion, hidden in the darkest shadow as the _heroes _gathered around a table, all looking grim. Then Fury walked in, looking suspiciously at the shadows in the corner that Loki was hidden in before turning to speak to his subordinates'.

"First of all we must proceed as if Agent Barton is compromised; I need to know that you will all back me up on this." He said, staring directly at Romanoff who flushed right to the roots of her bright hair. Loki grinned at the look on her face, it was quite clear that she did not intend to follow her director's orders. And looking around at the others Loki could see that Stark and Thor were also looking fairly rebellious.

"See this is why I choose Clint out of all of you." He drawled, stepping out of the shadows and abandoning his cloaking spell. He ignored the gasps of shock and the way that everyone reached for a weapon, instead smiling charmingly at Fury. "He is the only person of this group who will always remain loyal to his master, no matter what."

"What have you done to him?" Stark asked glaring at Loki.

The god smirked thinking of the many ways he could respond to that. "A great many things Stark, though I can assure you nothing he did not enjoy immensely." Hah, he did love it when he could get a reaction like that, mouths hanging open and eyes wide.

"Brother I demand that you release him." Thor said loudly, drawing Loki's gaze to his former brother. The trickster's lips curled as he sneered.

"Not your brother." He muttered "And he is not being kept captive. Do you all have eyes? He came to me willingly, no spell, words are all I have used on him." Ok not necessarily true, he allowed Clint to feel his magic sometimes; he knew that the archer was addicted to it and the one who welded it, so yeah sometimes he exploited that addiction.

"Loki either tell me why you are here or leave before I set my team on you." Fury snarled, his one eye glaring.

The god laughed "My dear director I am here bearing good tidings and yet you promise violence. How rude." The room was silent and he rolled his eyes "None of you are any fun. Fine, I will not harm Agent Barton nor any human that stays out of my way, so long as_ you_ all stay out of my way."

"Why would we agree to that?" Natasha asks, her eyes like fire on him.

His manic smile widened "Because if you don't I will rain destruction down on this planet." He raised a hand as Stark opened his mouth to comment "And do not assume that you shall beat me again. I was weak and controlled by disgusting creatures who did not care if I lived or died the last time I was here."

"I did not know that brother." Thor says softly

Loki's eye narrowed slightly at the use of the word brother but he ignored it this time, knowing that he had to pick his battles. "Well it's not like any of you thought to ask before you threw me into that _prison _Thor!" He shouts voice shrill and he knows more than a little mad. Taking a deep breath he smoothes his hair back from his face with a practiced motion. "If you thought I was angry before than think again Director Fury. And if any of you attempt to cross me you will see the full extent of that anger." He smiled again, charmingly, looking every inch the gentleman. "Goodbye, I sincerely hope I never have to speak to any of you again."

* * *

Heh, I really love asshole Loki you guys, he is so much fun to write. And I do hope you liked this because I am neglecting my frostiron stories for you.

REVIEWREVIEWREVIEW.


	6. Silence before the storm

Song suggestion for this chapter: Shake our tree by the Rosebuds. No real reason its just a really good song and I listened to it way to much while writing this.

Hope you all like it!

* * *

"Wake up pet." Ugh it was too early for this. He had barely closed his eyes and now he had to open them again. Life_ sucks_. Clint rolled over in bed, pulling the blankets over his head, hoping to shut out the insistent voice that was curling in his ear.

But no one could ever really escape Loki.

"_If you do not get up this instant I won't have sex with you ever again." _The god whispered mischievously in his head, along with some mental images of what may happen if Clint _did_ get up this instant.

"Oh fine." He said shortly, sitting up in bed and blinking in the early (way to fucking early in his humble opinion) morning sunlight. The archer smiled when he saw Loki perched on the end of his bed, dressed in a simple black suit and looking completely ready to take over the world. If there was one thing that could cure his anti-morning attitude it was waking up to _this._

"Feeling better?" Loki asked, leaning closer and tilting his chin up with a slender hand, skin ice cold, eyes serene and a light green as opposed to their normal fiery emerald.

"Yeah, I…..I wish I hadn't done that last night, sorry you had to deal with it." Loki looks confused for a moment before his expression smoothes over and he laughs.

"The panic attack you mean? I did not mind dealing with it my bird. I would be far more concerned if you had not had some sort of negative reaction to leaving with your friends."

Clint smiles a little, still getting used to the _peacefulness _of this; he had forgotten just how tender and _sweet _Loki was in the morning. It had been to long since they had been in each other's company during the day. The smile on the archer's face widens a bit and he scoots closer to the god, eyeing his neat, most likely designer suit, that suit is just begging to be messed up a bit. Clint glances at Loki's perfectly slicked back hair, that could stand for a bit of ruining as well.

"What?" Loki asks, a little concerned by the growing glee in the human's expression. He was going to say more, something serious most likely, something about his plans for taking over the world and making humans kneel and blah blah blah but Clint kissed him instead.

"Uhm" For once Loki seems speechless and Clint grins as he pushes Loki gently back onto the bed and clambers on top of him, peppering soft kisses on his lips. "_Pet-_" Loki mutters, the rest of his sentence dissolving into a breathy moan as Clint relocates his mouth to the god's neck.

"It's your own fault you know." Clint says in a serious voice, pulling back slightly to gaze at the trickster's unfocused gaze and flushed cheeks. Oh how the tables have turned! He feels Loki stiffen underneath him (and not in the good way) as the mischief god stares up at him, confused and a little worried. Clint feels his stomach drop because he knows that look. He's seen it before, on countless people. The fear of betrayal, the fear of abandonment, that moment when all you can think is 'No, no, why, don't leave me, say you still want me, don't _blame me._' But he's not going to, he lets a comforting smile twist its way onto his lips and leans back down to brush his mouth against Loki's skin again. "It's your own fault for looking so flawless all the time. How do you expect me to resist?" That the closest he has ever come to teasing Loki and somehow he thinks he's going to get away with it. There is something about today, something bright and _new_. It's so different from the way he felt yesterday and that's how he knows he made the right decision.

Loki lets out a soft, pleased laugh that is almost a purr and almost makes Clint think he imagined the moment of insecurity in his God's eyes, _almost. _"I don't." He murmurs, rolling the human over so he's on top and kissing him again before he can come up with a smart comeback.

* * *

It is 9 o'clock in the morning and Tony Stark is awake and on his third drink. That is pretty bad, even for him. But the person he was closest to in his team _had _just upped and left said team for a super-villain so he figured he was allowed to drink himself stupid for a day.

Natasha appeared in his line of sight, Pepper behind her and snatched his drink out of his hands. "Pull yourself together Stark. We need to talk about this."

"What is there to talk about?" He asks bitterly, staring mournfully at his glass in Natasha's hand, she would probably break his arm if he made a grab for it. "Clint left our side for Loki's, we all saw it happen." Well ok so normally he isn't so pissy and melodramatic but Clint leaving had hurt like a bitch and leaving with Loki….well that annoyed him more than he wanted to show.

"I am not going to give up on him like that. You're his friend too Stark, even if you're a shitty one and you are going to help me save him."

Tony quirked an eyebrow at the redhead "Oh really? And what if he doesn't want saving? You heard Loki Tasha." She winces at the nickname and Tony makes a note to use again if he's ever trying to annoy her. "Remember what the ass said? He hasn't done anything that Clint hasn't enjoyed. It seems to me that Clint has hopped into bed with the enemy, there isn't a lot we can do about that." He shrugged helplessly, not sure what to say to the assassin to console her. As much as it pained him they really _couldn't_ do anything until they knew more. And he really didn't want Natasha to go off the rails and go on some sort of mission to save/avenge Clint. As annoying as she could be while under Fury's thumb Tony knew that things would just get a thousand times worse if she went off on her own.

Natasha threw her hands up in exasperation (Tony watching in horror as some of his drink spilled onto his expense carpet, good lord Tasha watch what you're doing) and handed his drink to Pepper who was watching with wide eyes behind her. "Don't let him drink anymore. " She turned back around, fiery hair like a whip as she faced the cowering genius. "Meeting in 2 hours, don't try to back out or I will come back up here." She stomped over to the door then seemed to think of something and glanced back at the couple. "And don't you dare say there isn't anything we can do. There is _always _something we can do and I am not going to give up like the rest of you weaklings." Then she flounced out and Tony let out a huge breath of relief, he would rather face every super-villain together than fight with Natasha, that women _terrified _him.

"You know she's right." Pepper said softly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, nervous habit, with the hand that wasn't holding his half empty glass.

Tony lets his eyes go soft as he looks at his best friend "Yeah." He mutters, pretending not to notice the sympathetic glance Pep shoots him as she sets his drink back down on the side table and walks out the door. He doesn't touch it though; he's too deep in thought.

* * *

Nick Fury was having a shit day.

Actually most of his days were shitty but this one was slightly higher on the meter of shittyness. And all of this, Loki suddenly back on Earth, Barton gone and supposedly on Loki's side, all of this was piling up. And to top it off Romanoff wasn't answering his calls. The one person that he could always count on to back him up and fuck where had she gone? Nick rubbed his forehead, trying to force out the pounding in his head but it obviously didn't work. He would have a headache until Loki was gone and everything was back to normal. He stood up, leaving Barton's file where it rested on the table-top, glaring at it for a moment. Yeah, everything would go back to normal. It had to.

* * *

Natasha tapped her fingers against her hip, letting her skin graze the cool feeling of her gun just to reassure herself that it was there. Yes it was, everything was fine, she was safe. Except deep down she knew that everything wasn't fine because though she may be safe Clint wasn't and she owned him her life. They were bound together, no matter what they had to look out for each other.

"Hello Red" Said redhead rolls her eyes as she turns around to stare with an impassive expression at the man slowly approaching her. She pushes her leather jacket back so the gun in even more obvious and the man stops. Natasha doesn't know his name and he doesn't know hers. However they both know more than they should about what is truly happening in the world so sometimes they ask each other for favors. "What can I do for you?" He asks quietly, watching her with dark eyes that she can just barely see in the shadowy alleyway they are standing in.

"Loki Laufeyson" She says shortly, watching with sharp eyes as the man stiffens "he is on Earth again as I'm sure you've heard." Natasha waits for the man to nod before going on "I need to know where he is. Can you help me?"

The man is silent for a few moments before nodding again "May I ask why you want this information?"

Natasha purses her lips, impatient and ready to be moving on already. But her informant can be a prissy little bitch when he wants to be and if she is rude (as she often is) he has been known to walk away without giving her information. "He has…bewitched an ally of mine. I need to get this ally away from him."

The informant laughed, seemingly to himself "That sounds like him. I've heard whispers that he's in Soho, in some huge apartment near Centre Street."

Natasha worries at the inside of her cheek, there is something wrong here, something off that she can't quite put her finger on. "How do you know that?" The assassin asks quietly, glad that the steel is still apparent in her voice.

There is the glimmer of a sardonic smile in the near darkness. "Apparently he's recruiting, word is traveling fast. We're all in trouble Red. I suggest you forget your ally and leave the country, it's going to start here."

"I won't leave him." She mutters, already turning to leave.

"You asked two questions." The informant says in his voice like the shot of a gun in the relative silence of the alleyway.

Natasha glances over her shoulder at the shadowy figure, how sad is it that one of her longest relationships is with a person without a name or a face? "Next time. I owe you 2 answers."

"Holding you to it." He says in reply, always wanting to have the last word.

* * *

The man waits, standing so still it doesn't even seem human, until Natasha is long gone before letting an amused grin unfold across his face, his eyes, no longer dark but bright green gleam in the dim and he flickers slightly like the hologram that he is.

* * *

Meanwhile the real Loki leans back in bed, an identical smile on his face that disappears when Clint walks back into the room, hair wet from his shower, to be replaced by one slightly less bitter and manipulative.

"Come than bird, you've made me thoroughly late and ruined my hair, can we change the world now?" He drawls, sarcasm dripping from his tone as he gets up and wraps a possessive arm around the human's waist as he leads him out the bedroom door. Clint scoffs but doesn't argue, Loki knows that the archer is too busy enjoying this blissful peace while it lasts. They both know it can't possibly go on for much longer.

* * *

Hah. Ok that went in a different direction than I was planning but I kind of like it. I hope it surprised you all because it surprised me as I was writing it. Also Tony being scared shitless of Tasha is the most beautiful thing to write ever (As is Loki as the prissy bitch informant ohmyfuckinggod).

Please review my loves, you all are what keeps me going!


	7. Moments of clarity

Loki takes over the world the way a sleazy politician inexplicable wins the election…but _better, _like a thousand times better and much more graceful and genius_._ Actually, Clint can't really think of a perfect way to describe Loki's methods because he is shocked by them, by the _vast imagination _of them. Because the way the trickster is going about ruling Earth is rich and layered and full of _color._ His influence is like an undercurrent that begins racing its way through the city and slowly spreads out until it has touched everything. It's like when someone throws glitter on you and you can't get it off for week, no matter how hard you scrub, and then a month later you find a trace of it (Don't look at him like that, the only reason Clint knows so much about glitter is because he lives with Tony Stark and that man could give Loki a run for his money when it comes to mischief). Clint knows that even if somehow Loki fails, the effects of even just this one day will be felt for years to come. Because the god is practically _changing_ the way people think, the way their minds work. And that is just the first thing he does. Loki is standing in the middle of the main room of their apartment, eyes closed and a rapidly cooling mug of coffee at his feet, his hands are pressed his temples and the air seems to be vibrating around him.

"What are you doing?" Clint asks in a whisper, sipping from his own cup of coffee and watching the mischief god with wary eyes, he had been expecting meetings with super villains and missions to Russia or something, not this.

Loki sighed and cracked open an eye to mock glare at the archer "I am _attempting _to change the public's impression of me from last year, I can't rule them very easily if they think they need to overthrow me now can I?"

Well ok that made sense, kind of. But Clint had learned that even if he didn't show it, Loki enjoyed it when he asked questions, it showed an interest and a loyalty to the cause, not just blind faith. "How are you going to do that? You can't exactly wipe yourself from their memories can you?"

The trickster's eyes remained closed but Clint detached a hint of a smile. "Correct. I am simply skewing their perspective, turning a villain into someone misunderstood, into someone who ought to be a second chance at power and who didn't deserve the reception he received."

"Hah" Clint grinned, glad that he was here to see this, glad that he had his free will (even if it was always a little iffy around his god), glad that they seemed to be getting along, glad that that terrible moment when he betrayed his team is over (for now). "Who would ever believe something like that?"

Loki scoffs and Clint can just barely hear him mutter "You did, idiot." His fingers are tapping rapidly against his hip as he quickly finishes the spell, the space around them humming with electricity and the music of the words the god was muttering. Clint is frozen in place just watching in awe for a minute before he realizes that it has stopped and Loki is smirking at him. "Like what you see?" The god asks, raising a perfect eyebrow at the archer's expression.

"Ugh, stop being so amazing/frustrating for like a minute or something." He mutters, looking away from Loki's smug expression and directing his mind to things other than say, the way Loki's lips looked when he smirked. "Well then, you've changed the minds of millions of people, what's next my god?" And now the god looked even more smug, because apparently Clint gets off on adding fuel to the flame and Loki gets off on letting him.

Sadly though next was summoning all the other super-villains to discuss alliances and keeping out of each other's way. Clint stays in the loft bedroom for that one, peering down into the sitting room, just to make sure Loki is staying safe. He catches a few of his old enemies looking up at him and then back at Loki and oh my god he can practically _hear _the gossip that is going through their heads. But no one says anything out loud; they all can probably tell that Loki would blast them into oblivion if they did. And once all of those alliances are forged and the god damn villains have left they meet with the powerful humans, the politicians, the CEOs, the famous faces, the people that the world _really _cares about. And if there is one thing that Clint learns that day it's that Loki is _subtle_. For some reason he hadn't expected any of this. He had gotten used to the grand Loki who had tried to get them all to kneel. The Loki of big ideas and shrill screams and explosions that left more than a mark. That was the Loki he had thought he knew, a hurricane of a god. Now though he was realizing that Loki was more of a long, never-ending, never-relenting winter. He would creep up on you before you knew it and once he had you he wouldn't let go. The archer smiled slightly as he watched his god meet with those easily manipulated humans and coerce and flirt and hiss words at them like sweet poison. Watch the way they would leave, with dazed, amazed expressions on their faces and loyalty to the god of mischief thrumming through their veins.

This Loki was so incredibly different than the one who had tried to take over Earth, almost too different. It was bugging the hell out of him for hours. But then he figured it out. And he wanted to slam his head against something hard when he did because it was _so _obvious, how had it taken him so long to realize?

Clint brought it up that evening when they were in their room; Loki was sipping wine and reading a book that had appeared out of nowhere. Clint had been pacing and smoking a cigarette to try to sooth his amped up nerves for the past ten minutes.

"Your eyes were blue." He finally blurted, stopping in front of the couch and staring down at the trickster.

Loki didn't even look up; he just hummed and turned a page. "My eyes are generally considered a piercing emerald actually but nice try pet."

The human sighed and rolled his eyes, flourishing the cigarette in the air as he threw his hands up, causing Loki to glance up as well, his eyes narrowing as a speck of ash fell onto the carpet. "That's not what I mean! Your eyes are normally green yeah but last time you were on Earth they were blue, not as bright a blue as mine were but still _unnaturally _blue. Care to explain that?"

The god set his book down on his lap, lips tight. "Why are you inhaling that wretched smoke? Is that a habit you've picked up in my absence? Because I won't stand for it."

Clint ignored him and moved to take another drag but Loki blinked and the cigarette was flying out of his hand and out the open window. "What the hell Loki?" He started to say but the last words were choked out because the god had practically flown off of the couch and at him, backing him into the wall, hand at his throat.

"Where is this insolence coming from pet? Am I going to need to take away your freedom? Because I will if I must." His hand was tight on Clint's neck and the archer tried to relax, knowing that struggling would do him no good.

"No, no you don't need to. I'm sorry Loki." The steely look in the God's eyes did not weaken and Clint took a deep breath, turning large, pitiful eyes on him. "Please my lord….my god? I'm sorry." Loki rolled his eyes and dropped his hand, taking a step back from the human, who immediately started coughing as the pressure left his throat. With a murmured word he summoned another glass of wine to replace the one that had fallen to the ground when he had gotten up and downed it in one long drink as he waited for Clint to stop coughing. Finally the shorter man straightened up, rubbing at his throat. "Listen…..I don't mean to intrude or be disrespectful, you _know _I don't mean to do that. I'm just trying to…understand."

Loki sighs and takes another sip of wine, licking his lips before opening his mouth to speak. "You are correct. My eyes were blue last year; surely you did not think that I would have acted so recklessly if I had been completely in control of my actions?"

Clint opened his mouth to reply but instead he was thinking about Loki, Loki in the past and Loki now and the huge differences between the two. Loki in the past had been possessive to the extreme and terrifying and _mad, _practically feral. But then there had been moments, moments when something had gone right or when they were both half asleep in bed together that he had been different. And Clint was sure that if he thought hard enough he would remember that Loki's eyes had flashed green during those times. He gnawed at his lip, concentrating hard on those moments, those moments of clarity, because everything from that time was still a bit fuzzy and off, like he had been looking at everything through a veil. But those moments were still there, they were still real and cold and he could see them like they were yesterday.

"_Keep quiet bird" The god murmured, a bright grin stretching his lips as he gently pushed Clint against the wall, pressing their bodies together. The human laughed and squirmed out of his grip, pulling away so he was just teasingly out of reach. They had been tucked away in a small room in their latest hideout when someone had walked by, some mind controlled human that didn't matter but Loki had laughed and pulled him away, out of sight of the approaching person, eyes green and intent on him and most of all happy._

"So than…" Clint slid down the wall and sat down on the floor, eyes downcast. "So than why did you choose me? Was that your choice?" He was pulling at a thread on his jeans, pulling and twisting it around his finger, trying to distract himself and failing.

He could feel his body heat lower considerably as Loki stepped closer to him and then slowly knelt down, leaning towards him to meet his gaze. "Pet, look at me, of course I choose you, if I could do it all over again I would still choose you." He tilted Clint's chin up with a cold hand and met his eyes. "Don't you dare doubt me and don't you dare doubt yourself." The god tilted his head and gazed at the human, seemingly waiting for him to respond and when he didn't Loki laughed and leaned closer, pressing their lips together. Clint considered pushing him away, considered punching him, considered walking away, considered worshipping this mad man in the only way he knew how. It would be a lot more fun to do the last but he pushed him away instead, feeling more than hearing the slight groan that came from Loki.

"_Really _Clinton, do we have to always talk and be so serious? Let's just have some fun for once shall we?" Loki said softly, still close, to close, Clint wasn't able to think clearly when he was that close and Loki knew that.

"Oh fuck it" He said with a smirk and kissed him again, tasting wine and magic and a power that was going to rule the world one day.

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, it took long enough to write.

Review and let me know what you think!


	8. Hope in a Hopeless Place

I'm back babies! I finally have all of my documents back so I'll be updating regularly again.

* * *

Natasha was worried.

No worried was an understatement.

Freaking the fuck out was bit more accurate.

The agent nodded, smiling slightly to herself at the phrasing of that particular thought, the smile sliding off of her face once Stark came into view, dragging Steve and Bruce along with him.

"So Nat, what's the dealio?" Tony asked loudly, grinning as she winced at the nickname.

"Call me that again and I'll break your arms and steal your girlfriend Stark." She replied, ignoring Steve's blush at the implications of -gasp!-lesbians! And Tony's choking noise at the mental image. She focused instead on Bruce, seeing a higher level of sympathy in his eyes that was not in the eyes of the others. He may not hate Loki but he had a disgust for him that was almost level with her's. Steve couldn't really hate or feel anything strongly, he was still too lost in the past to really feel what was happening around him and Tony obviously saw so much of himself in Loki that Tasha didn't want the two near each other. And Thor of course could not be trusted. Natasha did not even dare speak of Loki around him. The man was too dedicated to the brother he had lost to see that the man in front of them had morphed into someone else entirely. But Bruce, Bruce was all about bettering oneself and learning to move past ego and Loki was the complete opposite of that. The two of them reminded Natasha of opposing magnets, trying to stay as far away from each other as possible, to different to even consider the other's point of view.

"What is it Natasha?" Bruce asked her softly.

"I haven't given up on getting Clint back." She said, eyes sharp on Tony as he rolled his eyes. "Don't you dare Stark; I don't care what you say I'm going to save him."

Tony held up a hand "Listen Nat, I get it ok? You want your best friend back, I'd do the same thing for Pepper." he paused and for a moment Natasha's heart rose, if he had Stark's support then the rest of them would follow. "However, Pepper wouldn't have become Loki's booty call like Clint did. And when sex is involved things are more complicated. This is more than a kidnapping or whatever the hell that mind control thing was last year."

Natasha was quiet for a moment. "I read Clint's file and then confronted him about it before he left. They started sleeping together when he was being controlled." She said quietly, avoiding Bruce and Steve's sympathetic glances.

Tony whistled "Rock of Ages is into some kinky shit isn't he?" he shook his head "Than this is more than I thought, Clint's in too deep, I just don't know how you expect to help him Romanoff."

Natasha didn't want to admit it but she could see Tony's point of view, it was beginning to seem hopeless. She turned to Steve and Bruce instead with wide eyes. "What do you two think? Because I'm going to at least try to see him this afternoon and convince him to come back." She paused to glance back at Stark "And I will do it on my own if I have to but I'd prefer to work as a team."

Steve crossed his arms, meeting her gaze solidly "I don't know, we all heard what Loki said about interfering."

Bruce shook his head "I want to help, I really do but I do understand what Tony's saying" (They all ignored Tony's sudden "Thanks science bro!") "I feel as though Clint did make his own decision walking over to Loki and we should respected the fact that he made a choice out of his own free will, whether we agree with it or not." He stopped speaking and glanced at Natasha's carefully closed off expression "I support your decision not to give up on him as well though."

Tony coughed suddenly, drawing all of their gazes toward him. "Also, just so you know Tasha, the one eyed wonder was asking about where you'd been lately the other day. I think he's getting suspicious."

Suddenly nervous at the thought of Fury listening in on this conversation Nat glanced around at the corners of the room, sharp eyes searching for the telltale sheen of glass or metal from a camera. Tony shook his head, recognizing her worry immediately. "It's ok; this room is completely blocked off from Shield's radar." His gaze turned sly "And although I do not support this idea _at all _I think I could manage distracting Fury from his missing assassin with a few shenanigans for at least an afternoon."

"I can help." Bruce added quietly, surprising the redhead, she hadn't expected him to volunteer to rebel. The scientist grinned at Tony "There is that one thing in the lab we wanted to test."

Natasha considers asking but judging from the shit-eating smirk on Tony's face and the worried look on Steve's she does not want to know.

* * *

Clint was actually awake before Loki this morning. That was shocking in itself. He didn't think he'd ever seen Loki really _asleep_, like fast asleep, completely knocked out; hair askew and limbs splayed out across the bed and tangled in the white sheets. It was, if he was being truthful, quite adorable. The archer made some coffee and opened the windows of the apartment, letting the cold, autumn breeze waft into the room. He breathed in deeply tasting that familiar taste of cigarettes, gasoline, and humanity, god he loved the city. Clint wondered absently just how different that essential _taste _of New York would be once Loki took over. Would the city taste of wine and odd herbs? Would he hear classical music all night instead of sirens? Would he see starving models and artists in place of overweight tourists and alcoholic business men? Clint felt a smile twist his lips at the thought of it; even Loki couldn't change things _that_ much.

He pushed the heavy curtain aside and glanced down at the busy street, taking a sip of coffee and almost choking on it. Because right there, just there on the sidewalk, gazing up at the building had been a shock of red hair and pale skin clothed in something black and form fitting, Natasha, it had to have been, it to have been Nat. But no, no way, the crowd of people had shifted on the sidewalk and once he blinked again she was gone, if she had ever been there at all.

As he stared down in shock at the far away sidewalk cold hands snaked around his waist, lips ghosting against his neck and making him shiver involuntarily. Loki laughed, those hands toying with the hem of his shirt, fingertips grazing his abdomen. "So rude of you to allow me to wake up all alone in such a large bed, my bird." He hissed into the human's ear, making Clint grin slightly to himself as he turned in his arms, raising his eyebrows as he faced the taller man.

"Can I make it up to you?" He questioned, the memory of_ maybe _seeing Natasha pushed away into a corner of his mind but not forgotten.

The god smirked down at him "Need you even ask?"

Clint laughed and wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling the taller man down to his height so he could press their lips together. Loki tasted like the opposite of New York, the opposite of cigarettes, gasoline and humanity, and it was wonderful. The archer grinned into the kiss, and allowed Loki to navigate him away from the window and towards the bed. "Shouldn't we be working?" He gasped, as Loki pulled away from his lips to tug off his shirt and throw it onto the floor. God's really were quite careless about the clothes of humans; Clint knew that if he ever did that to one of Loki's precious silk shirts the trickster would smite him. "You know, ruling the world…" He bit his lip to stop the moan that was building up in his throat as Loki grinded his hips into Clint's '_Where in the hell had he learned how to do that?' _and blinked up at the god, trying to focus his vision. "…achieving all your dreams?"

Loki moved his hands down to the human's hips, hooking thin fingers in worn out belt loops as he sat down on the bed, pulling Clint along with him. "Pet, there is something you must know about me." He whispered in the man's ear, sending shivers down his spine. "I do not have to do _anything _to rule the world." Normally emerald eyes were darker than usual and Clint was starting to feel a bit uneasy as Loki's gaze remained unwavering. "I could rule the world from this bed. In fact right this instant a group of young angry men and women are meeting in a café in the Midwest and within two years they are going to rule the modern age. Some of them will be politicians, some of them will be actors and artists, some will be activists, and one very special young woman will become a martyr for young, impassioned people everywhere. And do you know what connects them all Clint? They met on a blogging website on your internet. They had all felt sympathetic towards my previous attempt to rule this world and after yesterday when I shifted the masses opinion, they felt more than sympathetic, _they wanted to help me." _Loki lies back down on the bed, pale skin blending into the pure white sheets of the bed, only his eyes and hair standing out against the mass of white. "I can rule anything and everything." He reaches up a hand to caress Clint's cheek and the archer feels his heart clench once, twice, like someone has snatched it out of his chest and is squeezing it tightly, squeezing to hurt, squeezing to kill. A lump is growing in the back of his throat and his swallows hard against it, lying down on his stomach next to Loki, resting his elbows on the god's thin chest. "I can even rule you, my bird."

Clint smiled slightly, reaching out a hand to trace Loki's sharp cheekbone and the locks of inky hair that fell across his forehead. "You already do rule me, my god."

* * *

Natasha was a block away from the apartment before she started breathing normally again. Clint…Clint had seen her…she was sure he had. The redhead shook her head and ducked into the nearest coffee shop, shaking her hair back out of her face as she removed the sunglasses that Tony had made for her as a Christmas gift (because she told him she wanted vodka or nothing so he decided it would be funny to make her an actual gift). The sunglasses had special Stark technology in them so though they looked like normal, large dark sunglasses they actually were loaded with vision enhancing equipment. Natasha ordered a black coffee and sat down in an overstuffed armchair, drawing her legs up to her chest. She hadn't expected that. She didn't know what she had been expecting but it hadn't been _that._

_He was at the window, looking for all the world like he had in during their missions in Budapest and Morocco and Bristol, looking just like he had every morning after a long night. His hair was messy and sticking straight up around his head; he had on some holey tee-shirt that he probably adored paired with faded jeans and a mug of probably half cold coffee in his hand. Clint stood at the window for a few long moments, just looking down at the world and Natasha wanted to scream, wanted to call him, wanted to do anything if it would make him see her and come back to her, come back to them, come back to where he belonged. Then something in his posture changed, he stiffened, just slightly, he was too well trained to be very obvious but the sunglasses enhanced Natasha's vision enough that she could see the sudden tightening of his shoulders and the way he leaned forward, mouth falling open as he spotted her. She blinked, unsure what she should do, she shouldn't be here, what if Loki found out, what if he already knew? He had promised not to hurt Clint, but only if they stayed out of his way. Conflicted, Natasha bit at her lip, glancing back up at the window as she moved away, stepping just out of Clint's line of vision as she pressed a miniscule button on the sunglasses, amping up the visibility as she moved further from the apartment. Then she stopped in shock, and a shocked Natasha was not something that happened very often. Loki had appeared behind Clint and wrapped long arms around him, leaning down to whisper something in the archer's ear like the snake that he was. Clint smiled seemingly in reply to whatever the god had said and turned around to face him, and as much as Natasha would like to misinterpret what she saw next she knew she couldn't lie to herself, she never had been able to, and Clint was leaning forward, obviously of his own free will, to kiss the god._

Natasha pulled herself out of her thoughts to pay for her coffee and take it from the barista, mind still struggling through that image of Clint, _her _Clint, her best friend, her partner in crime and saving the world, kissing the man she hated above all others, kissing the man that she thought he hated above all others. How could she have been so wrong? How hadn't she seen this coming sooner? Why hadn't she seen the signs? Now that she knew it was obvious, so obvious. Clint had been off since Loki had left earth the last time. There had been more secrets, less talking, less smiling and jokes, more alcohol. She had seen him getting worse, seen the shadows under his eyes and how _off _he had been but she had refused to face it. Nat closed her eyes, rubbing at her temples, feeling a headache coming on, the type that you can't cure with pills or alcohol or sleep. She would have just stayed like that for awhile, sipping coffee and trying to work up the energy to go back to the apartment and confront her friend while wondering if it was even worth it.

* * *

Natasha slipped into the apartment, eyes warily darting around the large empty room, as silent as the spider she was named for. She shut the door behind her and then stopped dead. Because Clint had just rounded the corner, chest bare and face unshaven, a beer dangling from his fingers.

"Tasha?" He asked, voice quiet, so quiet, that Natasha was reading his lips more than hearing him and she knew that Loki must be somewhere in the apartment. Clint looked good, better than she had thought he would at least. His skin was glowing and his eyes looked bright and their normal greenish grey, he had been smiling right before he saw her, she had watched the smile disappear. She was surprised, shocked even at how good he looked, maybe it was selfish but she had kind of thought that he would wither up and die without her, god knows she had been dying without him. "You can't be here" he mouthed, eyes wide. Clint jerked his head towards where she assumed the bedroom is and she felt her skin begin to crawl because Loki was so close, _so close and she could get rid of him right now. _But now Clint was shaking his head very slowly at her and gesturing towards the door, he wanted her to leave. He fucking wanted her to leave! This was not going the way Natasha had assumed it would go, not at all.

"I need you to come with me." She mouthed, watching as Clint walked around the room, trying to make noises that would sound normal to Loki in the next room.

He shook his head "I can't"

Natasha could feel her eyes filling as she shook her head back and forth, trying to make him see just how important this was! She was not used to this. Clint was her right hand man; she had never had to even ask him to do anything. He was always there, just slightly behind her on her left, ready to do her bidding and now suddenly he wasn't.

Clint was simply watching her freak out silently and Natasha realized that she had never really seen him like this, in front of her, standing up to her, watching her breakdown without a word and she wondered if maybe this time she had pushed him too far. Maybe all of that time as her backup had taken its toll. Maybe living in the shadows and hoping for an order is what had turned him into this weakened version of himself that was so susceptible to malicious influence. She backed up slowly, back towards the door with light feet and a heavy knot in her stomach. She had done enough, she had hurt him enough and Natasha didn't think she could stand being around him as he stood there impassively. Natasha couldn't bear seeing him in worn out comfortable clothes and sex hair and be ok with it. Clint took a hesitant step forward, not because he wanted her there but because he knew what was expected of him. But Natasha shook her head and spun around, opening the door and sliding out, shutting it as quietly behind her as she could.

* * *

Loki rolled his shoulders, slowly trying to calm himself down. The door had just shut behind the Black Widow and Clint was currently trying to walk around the apartment and make it seem as though everything was normal. The god scoffed, the humans had thought he wouldn't notice their little exchange. Just like Clint had thought he wouldn't notice his sighting of Natasha this morning. "Idiot" He muttered fondly, standing up and walking over to the window. Natasha was walking across the street and sliding on those ridiculous sunglasses again as she turned to glance back up at the window. He smirked and raised a hand to wave at her before turning from the window to walk out of the room. Clint was in the kitchen washing out their used coffee mugs and wine glasses, the window was open and music was floating into the room from the apartment below them. The archer was humming along to the music and would seem to any other onlooker relaxed and uncaring but not to Loki. He leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms over his chest; eyes narrow as he took in the form of his human. Clint's hands were shaking slightly as he dried a mug and the back of his neck was glimmering with a light sheen of sweat. He was breathing very slowly, in and out in a way that made Loki sure that he was forcing himself not to descend into another panic attack. Slowly Loki relaxed, Clint was nervous sure, but not in a way that worried Loki about his subordinate's allegiance. He smiled, pushing all stress to the back of his mind. If his bird was loyal then everything would be fine. Everything had to be fine. He had Clint by his side and faithful to him and surely everything else would come easily.

"Pet." He said, his voice quiet and soft in a way that he hadn't heard from himself since he was young and hiding behind mother's skirts.

Clint turned and smiled at him "I know you asked for coffee but I think we've drunk it all."

Loki rolled his eyes "So you've decided to clean things instead? You are here to entertain me Clinton, not dirty your hands."

The shorter man shot a glare at him and wiped his wet hands on the front of his jeans; ignoring Loki's sigh of resignation at the state of his clothing and reached out and up to tuck a lock of inky hair behind the trickster's ear. "And you're here to rule the world from your bed, so let's get started."

* * *

I hope that you all enjoyed it!

Please review and let me know what you thought!


	9. Hastening the trip to our epilogue

Enjoy!

* * *

He should have realized that it was a mistake to leave Clint alone; _he should have realized this would happen. _Loki had lived his life surrounded by misery and was more used to bad things happening then good and yet he was still surprised when he came back to the apartment to find it empty. "Damn you Clinton" He muttered, head still swiveling around the large room, half expecting his human to round the corner any second now. "I was gone for _one _hour." The god closed his eyes and let out a noise that was halfway between a gasp and a sigh, knowing full well who had taken his property. That fucking red-headed bitch and her ridiculous need to steal back the man who had moved on from her. Loki ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his eyes as he focused fiercely at a coffee mug tipped over on the floor. He _had _promised that he would rain down destruction if any of those so called heroes got in his way and if they wanted chaos it was chaos they would get.

Clint couldn't see anything but that didn't mean he didn't know exactly what was happening around him; he hadn't been the second best assassin in the world for nothing. At this exact moment he was in a small interrogation room, handcuffed to a metal chair with a cloth sack over his head. He could hear the soft breaths of a woman leaning against the wall opposite him and he swallowed against the lump in his throat. "Tasha why'd you do this?" He asked, his voice quiet and intimate, the way he was used to speaking to her when they were alone, although of course they weren't alone, he knew that Fury and the rest of the team must be watching this conversation on the other side of the glass.

"You can't side with the enemy and expect me to do nothing Clint." She replied, voice hard in contrast with his.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I really believe that he's good and deserves to rule?"

There is a pregnant pause before Natasha responds, her voice scratchy as if it is an effort to speak. "I believe that you believe that." She shifted, he could hear the rustle of fabric and Clint would have smiled if he wasn't in this situation. She was wearing the cashmere sweater he had bought her last Christmas. It was one of the only non-leather thing she owned and Nat only wore it when she was upset or on her time of the month.

"Why did you all bring me here?" Clint asked, rolling his shoulders, uncomfortable in the hard backed chair, he had gotten used to the soft luxury that Loki had surrounded him with the past few days and wondered absently why the avengers considered themselves the good guys when they were the ones handcuffing their former teammate. "Loki will know I'm gone and he'll hurt you when he finds me." He bit his lip, he hadn't meant for that to sound like a threat but it had. "I don't want that to happen to you Nat." He raised his voice so the others watching could hear "I don't want anything to happen to any of you but it will if he finds me here and I don't think I'll be able to stop him."

He could hear the intake of breath as Natasha prepared to reply to him but she was cut off by the sound of a door opening. "Something's happening outside Natasha" Came Bruce's soft voice "We need to go" Clint could hear her soft footsteps as she followed the scientist out the door and Clint imagined that she glanced behind her for one last glance at him before the door shut firmly behind them. He wondered what was happening outside although he was sure he knew that cause of it, there was only one person it could be.

He didn't have to wonder long though, within a minute the sack was being pulled off of his head and the archer was blinking in the sudden light. A clink sounded as the handcuffs dropped away from his wrist and Loki walked around the chair to stand in front of him, expression serious.

"Are you alright?" He asked, kneeling down to run cold hands over the human's face, fingers pressing down lightly to check for bruising, eyes growing concerned as Clint winced when the god pressed on his cheekbone.

"It's alright Loki, I've had worse." He said, not knowing that his words were adding to the pit of despair that flourished inside the trickster.

Loki smiled though and pressed two fingers to Clint's temple, magic pouring from him and into the archer, filling him up and healing each and every injury that he had sustained within the past few months. "You are not allowed to leave my sight ever again. Do you understand pet?"

"I understand" Clint replied, melting at the sight of those green eyes filled with longing and sadness and something private and hidden. "What did you do to make them all leave like that?"

The look that had warmed Clint seconds before suddenly hardened reminding the human of the insane, blue eyed god who had laughed without joy. "I promised them destruction if they touched you" He grinned "so it is destruction they shall receive."

Natasha was staring wide-eyed at the scene in front of her, the rest of her team at her side and she wondered if they were thinking the same thing as her, because the only thing running through her mind was 'Oh god why did we take him, we should have known better. What have we done?'

Because the once peaceful world that she had known had turned into chaos. People were running and screaming at one another, buildings were on fire and no one seemed to have thought to call the fire department. Lightening was streaking across the sky and hitting people that it should have missed.

"He promised us destruction" Thor whispered "And we still did it."

Natasha dared a glance at the thunder god, his face was stony and his normally bright eyes were scarily blank.

"We need to help." Steve said, reaching over to clap a hand on Thor's shoulder. "That's all we can do, try to help."

The blonde turned to stare at the soldier and he slowly nodded, eyes meeting Natasha's for a split second and she knew that he knew it was all her fault though he would never say it out loud. She almost wished that he would. God knows the guilt she felt from all the things unsaid was almost enough to kill her anyways.

Loki could see the fear in Clint's expression at his words but he told himself that he did not care. Of course he didn't, he refused to care. Caring is what made one weak. It was caring that had killed him over and over again. It was caring that had driven him to that ledge and it was caring that had made him let go.

He did not care.

The god laughed as mockingly as he could at the fear in the light eyes of his human and kissed him, forcing cold lips onto soft and warm ones, relishing in the way the man went immediately limp at the contact. His perfect soldier, his loyal pet, his, his, _his. _

When the trickster pulled away Clint was watching him carefully, with that searching gaze that reminded Loki of the bird he was named for. "I'm fine" He said, wrapping a hand around the expensive silk of the suit Loki was wearing "I promise, I'm fine. There is no need to rain down destruction."

"There is always a need for destruction Clint." The man said, pulling the human to his feet "And I am the bringer of it and always will be."

* * *

I think the next chapter will be the finale so let me know what you all think so far!


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